2/26/2004 @ 6:00PM

Be Like Bill...Gates

In one of our most popular readers’ polls ever, we asked people last year as part of the World’s Richest People package who they’d rather be. Among the 13 options: a billionaire, rap star, head of state or a medical researcher who cures cancer.

Why was Dollar Bill such a draw? One reader from Los Angeles summed it up best: “Being a billionaire gives you the opportunity to expand on all the categories a person may choose in the poll–directly or indirectly. You can directly influence all of these human possibilities when you have serious billionaire cash flow. Hopefully people of billionaire status have the heart and courage enough to utilize their success to help others reach these other goals…. I wonder why someone would choose to be less than a billionaire when that status can take you in all of the different directions money can possibly provide.”

A distant second, clocking in with 16% of the votes, was a medical researcher who cures cancer. “I feel that if you cure cancer and play your cards right, you’ll be a billionaire eventually,” said one Miami reader. “Plus, you get to live out your financially affluent life guiltless because you have done something that no one else could do and saved millions of lives in the process. I consider that a win-win proposal.”

Our readers may crave the fortune, but they clearly don’t want the fame. Only 6% chose professional athlete. Still, that’s three times as many voters as those opting to be a rapper, astronaut, head of state, pop star or supermodel, all of which garnered no more than 2% of the vote.

Here’s a breakdown of the poll results. Although the 2003 poll is closed, you can vote in this year’s poll and still post your comments in our online forum.